EA Reflects on Respawn Agreement

May 4, 2010
Written by Kyle P.

For the past few months, the gaming world has literally focused on every tidbit of information regarding the Activision-Infinity Ward battle. Jason West and Vince Zampella, the two former studio heads of Infinity Ward, were terminated by Activision, and started their own company, Respawn. Sensing the quality of talent that populated Respawn, Electronic Arts came to an agreement with Respawn, and became the exclusive publishing partner for their games. In a recent interview, Frank Gibeau, president of EA’s Games Label, reflected about the move, and how it will help EA to move forward.

Gibeau called the decision, “something that fell into our laps”, and praised West and Zampella, calling them, “big players”, and that EA has, “lots of respect” for them.

“Infinity Ward, what they were was a spectacular development organization. Jason [West] and Vince [Zampella] and their team there, clearly created and did things in the entertainment business have never been done before in gaming.

“So lots of respect to them. Those guys are big players.”

Certainly, one can agree with his praise. Both West and Zampella led the team that created two of the biggest games in the history of the medium, and helped propel Activision into a mega-publisher. Gibeau then went on to talk about EA’s future with Respawn:

“The fact that we were able to take advantage of an opportunity that came our way and partner with Respawn and create a relationship with them has been spectacular, something that we’re very excited about. It’s a key part of how we’re growing our EA Partners business going forward.

“That was something that fell into our laps, after they were terminated and announced they were free and independent, and we went for it. The fact that those guys are doing what they’re doing, we’re very excited”.

Be sure to stick with PlayStation LifeStyle, as we’ll be sure to keep you up to date on all the latest of this ever-changing drama.